Cory Mac On Top of Top Fuel

Cory McClenathan held off defending Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher to pick up the No. 1 qualifying spot Saturday at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals.

John Force, Mike Edwards and Hector Arana also will head to the eliminations from the top spots in their respective categories as qualifying came to an end at Gateway International Raceway.

McClenathan drove his FRAM dragster to a 3.815-second run at 305.63 mph and past provisional No. 1 qualifier Schumacher to earn his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and 36th of his career.

“On our No. 1 run it was on a string,” said McClenathan. “We had good conditions and everything went right. I shut it off at 900 feet so I was surprised it ran that quick. As the day went on, conditions changed and it got tricky. We didn’t see any really good runs in the left lane and had to abort the last run. The hardest thing is that going into tomorrow we’ve only had a few good runs.”

Defending event winner Antron Brown ended up in the 16th and final spot while points leader entering the event, Larry Dixon took the third spot in the field.

In Funny Car, 14-time world champion John Force stayed in the top spot. Force drove his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang to a 4.103 run at 307.23. This is Force’s third No. 1 qualifier of the season and 134th of his career.

“My run last night was really good in the cool air,” said Force. “When we put that 4.10 on the board it was good but I think Ashley was more impressive with that 4.12 today. That’s the car to beat. I’m struggling in the heat but I have a good hot rod so I can race.”

Second-place driver Matt Hagan will start 12th while Force’s teammate and daughter, Ashley Force Hood, sits in the second spot in the field.

Continuing his dominance over the Pro Stock field, Edwards followed up his win at Las Vegas with the No. 1 qualifier at Gateway. Edwards drove his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP to a 6.640 at 207.82. This is Edwards’s sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season in just seven races and 28th of his career.

“We had some misfortune this morning so we came back and regrouped,” said Edwards. “Everybody has been saying that I’ve been dominating but if you look at the back half numbers, our performance is not much different than the rest of the field. We’ve just been making good runs and that’s why we’ve been beating them. There are a lot of good cars out here and it’s really, really close. That’s what our fans come out to see.”

Arana rode his Lucas Oil Buell to the top of the field in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a run of 6.905 at 194.46. It’s Arana’s second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 11th of his career.

“This track is awesome on the starting line and I had a hard time getting the right combination,” said Arana. “I knew if I could get it today, that we’d be okay. I dropped the clutch and the rpm came up quickly so I knew it was a good run. Then (the track crew) gave me the No. 1 sign and I knew I was the quickest.”

Sunday’s eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

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First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 14th annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway International Raceway, the seventh of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Racin’ Today – Quote from John Force

“I’m excited to see writers like Jim Pedley, John Sturbin, Rick Minter, and Bill Fleischman, guys who have written about me, working together at www.racintoday.com. The internet is huge and it is giving talented guys like these professionals a place to get their stories out to our fans and the public. The media is changing and I am excited to see writers that have covered me and all of motorsports creating a new way to get our stories to our fans. They can take motorsports journalism to the next level. I’ve dealt with these guys for over 15 years all across the country.”

“As an example of the character of these guys, when Sturbin was with the Ft. Worth Star Telegram and I was racing at the Texas Motorplex, one of my favorite tracks he showed how he is an individual who gets it. He understands the sport and the drivers. Years ago I ran my mouth at the Texas Motorplex saying I was going to go out and set a record and if I didn’t I would eat his newspaper column. Well I didn’t set the record so I went into the press room and ate his column the next day. He told before I started that I didn’t have to follow through but I told him if I say something I am going to back it up whether I win or lose. That is the kind of pro Sturbin is as well as the rest of the writers at racintoday.com are. They will write the truth whether you like it or not.”

“You better not blame something on your car because Sturbin will dig and find out whether or not it was the car or you. He gets down in the trenches, tells the truth, and he knows what he is talking about. I am excited for these writers and this new website because I have always loved the media and I know that without the media you don’t have much. You have to be able to tell your story and get it right. These guys are guys who will make sure they get it right.” - JOHN FORCE